John Barsness Awarded Bushnell Bill McRae Lifetime Achievement Award

Overland Park, Kan. (AmmoLand.com)— Bushnell Outdoor Products established the Bushnell Bill McRae Lifetime Achievement Award to recognize the vast contributions the legendary writer and photojournalist made to the optics and outdoor industry during his 50-year career. Introduced in 2011, the annual award was established to both honor McRae and recognize current and future journalists who have made a profound impact in the industry.

The 2013 Bushnell Bill McRae Lifetime Achievement Award recipient certainly fits that bill. During his 20-year career as a journalist and outdoor writer, John Barsness has been published in the majority of the hunting and shooting magazines on the market as well as in titles such as SportsIllustrated and National Geographic. As the first optics columnist for Petersen’s Hunting, Barsness educated thousands of readers on the subject.

In addition to the hundreds of published articles, John has authored 10 books on the outdoor experience, with a focus on hunting, shooting, fly fishing and optics, and has an 11th title on hunting optics scheduled to be released this fall.

“It is a pleasure to join Bushnell in recognizing a fellow outdoorsman who has not only contributed individually, but who has helped many others throughout his career. John has dedicated his career to covering the outdoor experience while educating countless readers along the way,” said Bill McRae.

As a Montana native, John was introduced to hunting at an early age. He has hunted across North America as well as the Arctic and all the way to southern Africa. He resides in his home state of Montana with his wife and fellow author Eileen Clarke. Together, they publish their own books as well as the online hunting and shooting magazine Rifle Loony News. John is a staff writer for several hunting and shooting magazines, although he spends less time traveling now and more days afield in his home state hunting with family and friends.

In addition to the industry award, Bushnell endowed a scholarship at the University of California, Davis for students pursuing a degree in optical science and engineering. The $7,500 annual scholarship at UC Davis, a nationally renowned optics institution, was the College of Engineering’s first corporate-sponsored scholarship named for an individual.